In the infancy of the NBA, teams were built around big men with the thought that everything goes through the center. They are physically the strongest and tallest players on the floor. Offensively, they don't usually have much range on their jumpshot nor do most of them play from the perimeter. Known as the paint or low post, this is where most centers dwell as they wait for the ball to be thrown into them. Defensively, most are adequate shot blockers and intimidators. Rebounding is a must for this position as he should be near or at the top of his team. The most talented players at this position are advanced offensive players with athleticism and mobility.

The position is referred to in playbook terms as "the four" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low blocks". They play offensively with their back to the basket on offense and position themselves defensively under the basket in a zone defense or against the opposing power forward on defense in man-to-man defense.

Typically, a power forward is one of the larger players on the court, not as tall as the center but more muscular. They are usually expected to be aggressive when pursuing rebounds and score most of their points on the low post (no more than six feet (2 m) from the basket), as opposed to taking jump shots from farther away. Power forwards can be imposing presences on defense, but they usually defer to the center in terms of blocking shots and general intimidation. In the NBA, a typical power forward is between 6'8" and 7'0" (2.03 to 2.13 m) in height and 230 to 260 pounds (105 to 120 kg) in weight, and is often asked to play center in specific game situations or when a particular team lacks a taller player.
Sources: Wikipedia.com, May 2006

Usually the best all around player on the team one; who is able to do a number of things such as rebounding, passing, scoring, and defending. But despite all these abilities, the small forward is not commonly strong in any one particular area. Just as the shooting guard of today's game has redefined and expanded the role and responsibilities of small forwards, many have now become point forwards, who virtually handle the ball and set up the offense in situations where the team's point guard isn't as talented or simply has another role on the team.

Commonly known as the 2-guard or off guard, he is generally the most gifted scorer and the teams premier athlete. Thanks to evolution of the game (with the 3-point shot and the faster paced games) the shooting guard has developed into one of the most talented positions. Although they are not required to be the offensive leader that point guards are, a solid shooting guard must be able to effectively pass to the open man or drive and dish out to shooters. They are also able to aid the team in rebounding.

The point guard position is one of the most important positions in all of team sports. Just like a Quarterback in football, a point guard's main responsibilities are to run the offense and be the vocal leader on the floor. Point guard must in the purest sense be an extension of the coach. He must create balance and control in order for his team to succeed. He is usually one of the smartest players, able to recognize important match-ups that are in his team's favor and determine the opposing team's defenses.

The Draft Review’s honorable draftees are comprised of the group of elite basketball players throughout history that were on pace to be drafted by the NBA but did not make it to the pros due to poor off-court behavior, tragedy, or other unforeseen circumstances.

TDR will name honorable draftees based solely on the individual’s performance as a basketball player and the potential they possessed to become a major contributor in the NBA.

NBA teams are prohibited from announcing publicly the terms of any potential trade prior to its official completion via a trade conference call with the League Office. This rule applies throughout the year, including on the night of the NBA Draft.

On Draft night, trades will only be announced by the NBA during the Draft telecast, provided the trade call is completed prior to the end of the Draft. If a trade call is completed after the Draft has concluded, the terms of the trade will subsequently be announced by the teams, as per the usual rule, at a time agreed upon by all teams involved in the trade.

NBA Teams are prohibited from publicly disclosing the player(s) they intend to select in the Draft. All such selections will be announced by the NBA during the Draft telecast.

Teams are allowed to trade future draft picks (first and second round) as they would current players. However, NBA teams are restricted from trading away future first-round draft picks in consecutive years.

This page was set up to honor players who were notably absent on draft night. Many of these players went on to achieve solid careers in the NBA. To make this list truly exceptional certain guidelines were put into place in order to achieve the high standards that we feel truly honors these players. If this was open to any and all players who ever made an NBA roster then we feel it would take off much of the prestige. These players are truly the cream of crop among all of the undrafted free agents to ever play in the NBA.

Beginning in 1971, underclassmen were allowed to enter the NBA Draft provided they could give evidence of “hardship” to the NBA office. In 1976 the hardship requirement was eliminated in favor of the current Early Entry procedure, whereby any athlete with remaining college eligibility can enter the NBA Draft on the condition that he notifies the league office at least 45 days before the draft. International players could declare eligibility in the calendar year of their 18th birthday, or later.

1. - All players, regardless of nationality, must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft.

2. - A player who completed basketball eligibility at a U.S. high school, regardless of nationality, must also be at least one year removed from the graduation of his high school class.

This age limit for draftees is part of the new collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players union.

The NBA has established two draft declaration dates. All players who wish to be drafted, and are not automatically eligible, must declare their eligibility no later than 60 days before the draft. After this date, prospective draftees may attend NBA pre-draft camps and individual team workouts to show off their skills and obtain feedback regarding their draft positions. A player may withdraw his name from consideration from the draft at any time before the final declaration date, which is 10 days before the draft. A player who declares for the draft will lose his college eligibility, even if he is not drafted, if any of the following is true:

The player signs with an agent.

The player has declared for and withdrawn from a previous draft. Although the NBA collective bargaining agreement allows a player to withdraw twice,[1] the NCAA only allows one withdrawal.

When a player is selected in the first round of the draft, the team that selected him is required to sign him to at least a one-year contract. Teams own the rights to players selected in the second round for three years, but the teams are not required to sign them.

U Sorts Qualifications: U SPORTS expects that all participants including Member Institutions, Regional Associations, Directors of Athletics (or equivalents), coaches, officials, student-athletes, administrators, Institution Representatives, volunteers, and others connected to our athletic programs and events uphold our core values of honesty, integrity, fair play, sincerity and honourability. All participants shall accept and actively encourage compliance with both the spirit and the letter of the rules governing U SPORTS, and shall ask for clarity on or interpretation of any rule regarding which there is uncertainty.

New members must declare at least two male and two female U SPORTS sports one of which must be a team sport. In the third year and beyond, new U SPORTS Members must declare at least two male and two female U SPORTS sports including one male and one female team sport. The following minimum participant numbers apply for sport declaration in cross country, swimming, track and field and wrestling:

These minimums are required before an institution can use that particular sport as part of their membership declaration. This does not prevent institutions from sending fewer athletes to a Regional Association or U SPORTS championship, but, in that case, the member will not have met the declaration requirement for that sport Sources: usports.ca, February 2020

Active membership in the NAIA is open to fouryear colleges and universities, and upperlevel, twoyear institutions in the United States and Canada that award the bachelor’s (baccalaureate) degree, or its equivalent. Active members must be notforprofit organizations and (for members in the United States) fully accredited by one of the six established regional accrediting bodies. Associate membership is available to fouryear colleges and universities, and twoyear institutions in the U.S. and Canada that award bachelor’s degree(s) but do not hold full accreditation by one of the six institutional accrediting bodies. The NAIA does not require a minimum number of sponsored varsity sports. Consistent with the association’s philosophy of institutional autonomy, active members are permitted to make decisions about sports sponsorship consistent with their institution’s mission and overall budgetary needs. Affiliated NAIA conferences, however, often do have minimum sponsorship requirements that conference members must meet. Maximum institutional aid limits exist for each sport. Financial aid limitations are outlined in Article VIII, Section G of the current NAIA Council of Presidents policy manual. All or a portion of institutional aid awarded to individual studentathletes may be exempted based on academic performance. For example, aid to continuing students with a 3.60 cumulative gradepoint average or who are in the top 10 percent of their class will not count against financial aid limits. Sources: NAIA.org, July 2005

Division III Qualifications:Division III institutions have to sponsor at least five sports for men and five for women, with two team sports for each gender, and each playing season represented by each gender. There are minimum contest and participant minimums for each sport. Division III athletics features student-athletes who receive no financial aid related to their athletic ability and athletic departments are staffed and funded like any other department in the university. Division III athletics departments place special importance on the impact of athletics on the participants rather than on the spectators. The student-athlete's experience is of paramount concern. Division III athletics encourages participation by maximizing the number and variety of athletics opportunities available to students, placing primary emphasis on regional in-season and conference competition. Sources: NCAA.org, July 2005

Division II institutions have to sponsor at least four sports for men and four for women, with two team sports for each gender, and each playing season represented by each gender. There are contest and participant minimums for each sport, as well as scheduling criteria -- football and men's and women's basketball teams must play at least 50% of their games against Div. II or I-A or I-AA opponents. For sports other than football and basketball there are no scheduling requirements. There are not attendance requirements for football, or arena game requirements for basketball. There are maximum financial aid awards for each sport that a Div. II school must not exceed. Division II teams usually feature a number of local or in-state student-athletes. Many Division II student-athletes pay for school through a combination of scholarship money, grants, student loans and employment earnings. Division II athletics programs are financed in the institution's budget like other academic departments on campus. Traditional rivalries with regional institutions dominate schedules of many Division II athletics programs.

Division I Qualifications: Division I member institutions have to sponsor at least seven sports for men and seven for women (or six for men and eight for women) with two team sports for each gender. Each playing season has to be represented by each gender as well. There are contest and participant minimums for each sport, as well as scheduling criteria. For sports other than football and basketball, Div. I schools must play 100% of the minimum number of contests against Div. I opponents -- anything over the minimum number of games has to be 50% Div. I. Men's and women's basketball teams have to play all but two games against Div. I teams, for men, they must play 1/3 of all their contests in the home arena. Schools that have football are classified as Div. I-A or I-AA. I-A football schools are usually fairly elaborate programs. Div. I-A teams have to meet minimum attendance requirements (17,000 people in attendance per home game, OR 20,000 average of all football games in the last four years or, 30,000 permanent seats in their stadium and average 17,000 per home game or 20,000 average of all football games in the last four years OR, be in a member conference in which at least six conference members sponsor football or more than half of football schools meet attendance criterion. Div. I-AA teams do not need to meet minimum attendance requirements. Div. I schools must meet minimum financial aid awards for their athletics program, and there are maximum financial aid awards for each sport that a Div. I school cannot exceed. Sources: NCAA.org, July 2005

Colleges in the United States that meet set criteria from the Board of Directors offering educational quality that meet or exceed criteria that is required to grant the school an accreditation. The USCAA provides a national setting that traditional and nontraditional institutions can strive in. The membership is made up of several types of nationally accredited higher education programs. Member institutions offer four year degrees, associates degrees, and trade opportunities. The USCAA has worked to formulate an association that provides an equal playing field for each type of institution. USCAA members typically have small enrollment figures that range between 500 and 2000. The USCAA is proud of its institutions and their outstanding athletic programs, and wants to provide a place where diverse schools feel welcome and can compete at a national level.

The following criteria will be considered in determining the applying institution’s fit in the association.

1.) Institution is considered a small college. Generally, institutions with full-time enrollments over 3,000 full-time students will not be considered. 2.) Institution has similar resources including but not limited to budget, scholarship monies, human resource, etc. as current member institutions. 3.) Institution is on a similar competitive level as other member institutions, as determined by the board of directors.